News
County Seeks Federal Funds For Oceanic Bridge
By Ryan Fennell
FREEHOLD - The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders is seeking $75 million in federal funds for the eventual replacement of the Oceanic Bridge that connects Rumson to Middletown.
No determination has been made as to what type of bridge will replace the existing bridge and the $75 million the county is seeking is an estimate based on the size and construction costs of similar bridges, according to Monmouth County Department of Information Director Bill Heine.
"They do a statistical analysis where they project the size and cost of bridges similar in size and construction. It is a ballpark figure," Heine said.
The Oceanic Bridge recently had repairs done on its counterweights and there is currently a contract out worth between $550,000 and $600,000 to H&G Contractors in Ridgewood, NJ for repairs to the decking and replacement of concrete that is producing holes in the decking Heine said.
According to Heine, work is also being done on the northern foundation of the bridge.
"(The foundation) work is nothing critical. It's just something that needed to be addressed," Heine said.
Whether the bridge will be replaced with a bridge of similar design or with a high fixed-span bridge has yet to be determined according to Heine.
"Right now we are still in what is called the scoping phase," Heine said. "Part of that is we had a meeting with the public some months ago and there's going to be another one coming up in the near future. It will give another chance for the public to have input and get involved in what happens out there."
Heine said that no date has been set for the next public meeting regarding the future of the bridge.
"We are seeking federal funding for the bridge because we can't afford to do it on our own," Heine said.
According to Heine federal guidelines state that a fixed span bridge is preferable unless there is a specific reason why that can't be done.
